Saturday Sept. 5, 2022

Hansen Stadium

Jamestown 34 Dakota Wesleyan University 30

Box scorehttps://www.jimmiepride.com/SIDHelp/fullBoxScores/23/5/9585

Jamestown (UJ) Down by ten points with just over five minutes remaining, the University of Jamestown football engineered two touchdown drives on offense, then came up with a game-sealing interception in a 34-30 victory over Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) University Saturday afternoon at Charlotte & Gordon Hansen Stadium.

With the win, Jamestown (2-0) has opened the season with two straight wins for the first time since 2007, and defeated the Tigers for the first time since 1987, ending a six-game losing streak.

Cade Torgerson (SR/Billings, Mont.) completed 27-of-43 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the fourth passer in Jimmie program history to surpass 5000 yards in a career.

It was the Tigers who opened the scoring Saturday, with a seven-yard run by Jamin Arend that capped off a 10-play, 51-yard drive with 8:22 in the first quarter.

UJ’s first three possessions resulted in two punts and a turnover on downs, but fourth yielded a touchdown. Zach Hammett (FR/Mohave Valley, Ariz.) dove in from four yards out to cap off an 11-play, 89-yard drive to tie the game at the 8:08 mark of the second quarter.

Both teams were forced to punt on their next drive, but the Tigers put the final points of the half on the board with a one-yard run by Arend to make it 14-7 with 56 seconds before halftime. Arend did most of the heavy lifting on the drive, racking up 38 of the 48 DWU yards gained.

On Dakota Wesleyan’s first possession of the second half, the Jimmies got a sack from Paul Vandal (JR/Jamestown, N.D.) to turn a 2nd-and-12 situation into 3rd-and-22. UJ’s defense then forced a punt and the Jimmies took over on their own 13-yard line.

Torgerson led Jamestown to the end zone, connecting with Isaiah Roebuck (SO/Marana, Ariz.) four times for 60 yards as part of a 14-play, 87-yard drive. Roebuck caught a 19-yard pass and Aanon Peterson (FR/Andover, Minn.)’s extra point made it 14-14 with 4:18 left in the third.

A short kick by Peterson gave DWU decent field possession, and on first down from the Tiger 42 yard line, Arend broke free for a 31-yard gain. A pass interference penalty on 3rd-and-8 from the Jimmie 25 moved the Tigers into a first-and-goal situation. A pair of Arend runs got DWU down to the 2-yard line, but on 4th-and-goal, Arend fumbled the ball out of bounds and the Jimmies took over.

Adam DeJong intercepted Torgerson on 3rd-and-3 and took it 21 yards into the end zone, making it 21-14 just 55 seconds into the fourth. Disaster struck for Jamestown on the ensuing kickoff, as Gavin Spurrell forced a fumble that the Tigers recovered on the UJ 28 yard line. Arend finished off the scoring drive with a three-yard touchdown run, and Jaxon Patrick’s extra point pushed the lead to 28-14 with 10:48 remaining.

The Jimmies came up with two big plays by Micah Madyun (JR/Ramsey, Minn.), a 24-yard reception followed by a catch of 28 yards to put UJ at the Tigers’ 30 yard line. Faced with 3rd-and-6 at the DWU 16, UJ got the Tigers to jump offside and move the ball up to the 11-yard line. One play later, Torgerson found Javon Bowie-Monteiro (SR/Sacramento, Calif.) in the end zone, cutting the deficit to 28-20. Peterson’s extra point attempt was blocked by DWU and recovered by Hunter Cordell, who returned it for a two-point defensive point after touchdown, and UJ trailed by ten with 8:04 left.

A defensive stop on fourth down by Jamestown gave their offense the ball at their own 37-yard line, and Torgerson went to work. He connected with Madyun for a 21-yard gain on first down, and a DWU personal foul added another 15 yards to the gain, putting UJ at the Tigers’ 27-yard line. A nine-yard pass to Bowie-Monteiro and a 13-yard reception by Roebuck on third down gave the Jimmies a first down at the DWU five-yard line. Torgerson found Bowie-Monteiro on the next play, and the Peterson extra point made it 30-27 at the 3:41 mark.

In what was becoming a recurring theme in the final quarter, the UJ defense held strong again, forcing the Tigers into a three-and-out. With 2:27 left and no timeouts left, Jamestown took over at its own 23-yard line. After a pair of incomplete passes, Torgerson completed a 45-yard pass to Ryan Collins (JR/Akron, Ohio), taking the Jimmies into Tiger territory. On first down from the DWU 26, Roebuck came down with an acrobatic catch in the left corner of the end zone. Peterson converted the extra point to give Jamestown its first lead of the game.

With 94 seconds left, Dakota Wesleyan started at its own 18-yard line. Quarterback Austin Lee found Kiel Nelson for a seven-yard gain, then after a pair of incomplete passes, it looked like Jamestown would force the Tigers to go for it on fourth down. However, Vandal was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty, and DWU stayed alive. Now at its own 40-yard line, the Tigers continued to look to pass the ball downfield. On 2nd-and-10, Lee hit Logan Feuerbach on a 20-yard pass to get into Jimmie territory. Along with the big gain, Rashawn Benners (JR/Dayton, Ohio) committed a targeting penalty resulting in an additional 15 yards. 

From the Jimmie 25 on first down, Lee found Arend for a seven-yard gain, taking the ball down to the UJ 18 yard line. Lee’s next pass, however, was picked off by Parker Chaffee (SO/Phelan, Calif.) at the 2-yard line and returned to the seven, ending any hope of a Tiger comeback.

Madyun caught nine passes for 149 yards and Roebuck finished with seven catches for 106 yards. Jamestown outgained DWU 462 yards to 370, including 384 yards to 131 passing.

Defensively, Ezra Belingheri (SO/Sparks, Nev.) had 10 tackles, followed by Benners with seven and Vandal with six. Rob Anderson (JR/Alexandria, Minn.) also intercepted a pass and was credited with a pair of pass breakups.

The Jimmies are at Briar Cliff (Iowa) next Saturday with kickoff set for 1 p.m.